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The 10 Costliest States for Cooking Fires

Your kitchen can be a dangerous place, especially around holidays, like Easter.

Typically, holiday distractions (
"Mom, he took my chocolate bunny!"
) result in food left unattended on the stove.

Insurance giant State Farm says it pays out more than $130 million a year in
homeowners insurance claims
related to grease and other cooking fires. We count down the 10 states with the heaviest losses, according to State Farm.

10. North Carolina

J. Bicking / Shutterstock
Firefighers respond to a home in Asheville, North Carolina, with smoke billowing on Feb. 16, 2016.

Annual losses from cooking fires: $5.7 million

Cooking is responsible for nearly half (48%) of all house fires nationwide throughout the year, making it the leading cause of fires in the home, says the National Fire Protection Association, or
NFPA
.

Kitchen equipment also is the source of 45% of all fire injuries in homes, as well as 1 in 5 residential fire deaths.

The NFPA says stay alert when you're cooking! Don't use the stove if you've been drinking or are drowsy.

9. Texas

mon_ter / Shutterstock
Keep a lid handy to smother grease fires.

Annual losses from cooking fires: $5.8 million

A house in Killeen, Texas, was damaged by fire in November 2018 after the homeowner left a pot of grease heating on the stove and went outside to discuss something with a contractor,
fire officials said
.

Kitchen fires most often result when people step away from something cooking on the stovetop. The NFPA says don't ever do that — particularly not if you're frying or sautéing food in oil.

Keep a lid handy, so you can use it to smother a small grease fire. When a fire is too big and too dangerous for you to fight, get outta there! Leave the scene and shut the door behind you to hold back the flames.

7. (tie) Pennsylvania

An elderly couple died last fall while cooking in their western Pennsylvania home. A fire marshal said they were apparently overcome by smoke, The Associated Press reported.

State Farm says it's very important to check smoke alarms from time to time, so you know they're working. If they're battery-operated, be sure to keep batteries in the smoke alarms — don't
ever
pull out a battery because you need it somewhere else.

You want to have at least one smoke detector on each floor of your home. The devices should be installed at least 10 feet from your stove, to cut down on false alarms.

7. (tie) California

Karin Hildebrand Lau / Shutterstock
Take precautions in this kitche to prevent fires, like this apartment fire in Sacramento.

Annual losses from cooking fires: $6.2 million

When you've got food on the stove, keep towels, food packaging, wooden utensils and anything else that could catch fire — even oven mitts — far from the burners.

4. Maryland

Turkey deep-fryers are a newer cause of cooking fires, especially at holidays. A turkey fryer burst into flames last Thanksgiving morning in Maryland City, midway between Baltimore and Washington.
No one was hurt
.

The risk of burns and property damage is so high that the NFPA says don't ever deep-fry your bird at home.
Just don't do it.
Instead, buy an already deep-fried turkey from a supermarket or
restaurant
.

If you're determined to do the frying yourself, State Farm says have an extinguisher close by, never leave the fryer unattended, and never use it on a deck or other wooden structure.

3. New York

Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock
If you have a fire extinguisher, make sure you know how to use it properly.

Annual losses from cooking fires: $7.5 million

If you keep a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, be certain you know how to use it. Fire experts say it helps to remember the acronym PASS:

P: Pull the pin. Release the locking mechanism while you hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you.

A: Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the fire's base, not at the tops of the flames.

S: Squeeze the lever. You want to do it slowly and evenly.

S: Sweep. Spray the fire by sweeping the extinguisher nozzle from side to side.

2. Alabama

Katherine Welles / Shutterstock
Destructive fires can result if oil is allowed to get too hot on the stove.

Annual losses from cooking fires: $8.8 million

When frying foods in oil in your kitchen, be alert for wisps of smoke or a burning smell. Those are signs that the oil is dangerously hot, so you need to turn off the burner and move the pan away from the heat.

Heat oil slowly until you've reached the desired cooking temperature. Then, add the food slowly to the pan or pot so the oil won't splatter and burn you.

If a grease fire breaks out, don't ever throw water on it, State Farm warns. Have you ever seen what happens when you
pour water on hot oil
?